Eight weeks ago I started running with the Fleet Feet Fast Training Group. We met twice a week as a team and then had additional workouts to complete on our own. My group was small, as there were just four of us altogether. We each came to the group with different backgrounds in running but all shared the same goal for getting faster. Our definitions of "fast" varied greatly. I knew from the beginning that I was the slowest "fast" athlete but I tried not to let that discourage me. I knew I could count on my ability to pace to carry me through the training. The guys would often take off from the start and then be gassed by the last lap. I would start off steady and do my best to end strong. Those first few workouts were a wakeup call that I had a lot of work to do.

I started out not having more than a 2 mile run in the previous month before we trained. Thanks to bronchitis, I was stuck with just walking for a while before my lungs were clear enough to take on running. From the very beginning, we trained hard. I mean, we trained in the cold, in the rain, in sleet, and even snow! We ran one day when it was 38 degrees and raining. You never know what race day conditions will be, so the rule is that you run in every type of weather condition so that race day is just like any other training day.

Coach Bakri and me at the end of the race!

Our coach was a man named Bakri, who runs at ECU. He led us through workouts that were an hour of sweat, pain, dirt, and asphalt. We ran a 1 mile race pace test on the ECU track on week 7 of the program. It of course rained, but we still ran. My best memory was the run we did in the cold rain which quickly turned to sleet and then became snow as the workout ended. That is the first run in a long time were I couldn't feel my legs at the end. The top few layers of skin felt pretty much frozen!

Race day finally came around and we were as ready as we were going to be. A few days before the race, Bakri took us on a run that would be a preview of the race course. This was super helpful because then we knew exactly what to expect on race day. The race would start on an uphill so I knew I had to hold back a little bit in the start of the race. Most people have so much energy they go all out and then crash after the first mile. My plan was to try to pace it evenly as possible.

While I didn't reach my ultimate time goal, I was pretty happy with my race. After cooling down and hanging out at the Fleet Feet tent for a bit, Adam and I headed over to Buzz Coffee and got lattes! We were excited to see our favorite barista working. He needs to teach the rest of his co-workers how to froth soy milk! Check out the accidental swan in my cup!

Joining the Fleet Feet team has given me a great starting point and helped me to develop good running habits as I get ready to start the real ultra training. Running is easier when you have a team counting on you to show up every day!

Ten years ago, I started a journey that would change my life forever. I started running in January 2008. It was a miserable experience, I can't lie! Fifteen laps on the track made a mile. After three I thought I was going to die. In March 2008 I signed up for a 5k and in April I was toeing the line at the 2008 Cary Road Race. What I remember most from that experience is never wanting to do it again. Haha.... Who was I kidding? Two months later I was signed up for the Race for the Cure in Raleigh and I was hooked. I discovered a community that I loved being a part of. Runners are a special breed. It's hard to put it into words but I felt like I belonged. As years passed I would fall back on running as a way to meet people when I moved to a new city. The runners in Greenville became my first "family" and I would rely on them to get me through the pain of moving.

Fast forward to Saturday, April 14th, also known as MY BIRTHDAY!! Adam and I got to wake up at 7:45am which is LATE for a race, but this race doesn't start until 9:30am. When we made it to Cary we went to packet pickup and got everything I needed for the race. We looked for coffee and I got ready to start warming up. It was a different course that I had ran 10 years ago, but the whole point of this race was to celebrate both turning 36, and the anniversary of running my first ever 5k. I wore my birthday crown headband and my funny KALE tank top and smiled the whole way. I talked to a few people along the race course and shouted out THANK YOU to everyone who said "Happy Birthday!!" I felt like a celebrity. That's just how you SHOULD feel on your birthday! Towards the end of the race someone shouted "Here comes Queen Kale!" I love the name so much that I'm thinking of using it from now on to sign off on my blog, email, YouTube channel, and everything else. I'm also thinking about getting this tank top in other colors. It can be my signature race tank! Thank you, stranger!

I'm not sure that I will do this race again next year, but I certainly enjoyed getting to run this time for the celebration of it all. I didn't run a PR, but that didn't matter. This race holds a special pace in my heart. You truly never know how your life will change until you take a chance, no matter how crazy it seems!

​A huge thank you to Adam for always supporting me, waking up early on weekends, and holding my gear while I run. This wouldnt be as much fun without you!

You see that picture above? That's me 10 years ago at my very first 5k. It's the Cary Road Race in Cary, NC and it is held in April every year. This was the 30th anniversary of the race and I had just lost 20 lbs from a Biggest Loser competition at my local YMCA. Our coaches talked us into running a 5k to celebrate our weight loss victory. I was the only one who ended up signing up and showing up on race day...

I will never forget this race because I thought I was ready and within the first 1/2 mile we were met with a very steep hill and I quickly lost my confidence. I was gassed once I got to the top and I ended up run/walking the rest of the race. I felt like complete shit and I crossed the finish line and said, "I'm NEVER doing that shit again!!!!!!" I remember those words like it was yesterday.

Fast forward and it's been 10 years since I crossed the finish line. I am still running and I have completed countless 5ks, some 10ks, lots of half marathons, two full marathons, sprint triathlons, a half Ironman, and a full Ironman. I've met so many people who have become good friends BECAUSE of running. What has this taught me?

1. Never put limits on what you think is possible.2. Set goals that seem a little out of reach and see what happens.

This year the 40th Annual Cary Road Race will be held on my birthday and I plan to crush that race!

The other lesson? Try something that seems impossible. You might hate it at first so don't give up after the first try. You might just end up with a life long hobby! Had I given up after my first 5k, I never would have become an Ironman and THAT is one of my greatest accomplishments!